Variable semiconductor all-optical buffer using slow light based on electromagnetically induced transparency

ABSTRACT

A variable semiconductor all-optical buffer and method of fabrication is provided where buffering is achieved by slowing down the optical signal using a control light source to vary the dispersion characteristic of the medium based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Photonic bandgap engineering in conjunction with strained quantum wells (QWs) and quantum dots (QDs) achieves room temperature operation of EIT. Photonic crystals are used to sharpen the spectral linewidths in a quantum well structure due to its density of states and in a quantum-dot structure caused by the inhomogeneity of the dot size, typically observed in state-of-the-art QD materials. The configuration facilitates monolithic integration of an optical buffer with an amplifier and control laser to provide advantages over other material systems as candidates for optical buffers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application Ser.No. 60/324,201 filed on Sep. 21, 2001, incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A COMPUTER PROGRAM APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains generally to optical communications, andmore particularly to a variable semiconductor all-optical buffer whereelectromagnetically induced transparency is used to slow light.

B. Publications Incorporated by Reference

The following publications are hereby incorporated by reference:

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3. T. Keating, J. Minch, C. S. Chang, P. Enders, W. Fang, S. L. Chuang,T. Tanbun-Ek, T. K. Chen, M. Sergent, “Optical gain and refractive indexof a laser amplifier in the presence of pump light for cross-gain andcross-phase modulation,” IEEE PTL, 9, p. 1358 (1997).

4. J. Minch, S. H. Park, J. Minch, and S. L. Chuang, “Theory andexperiment of InGaAsP and InGaAlAs long-wavelength strained quantum-welllasers,” IEEE JQE., 35, p. 771 (1999).

5. S. E. Harris, “Electromagnetically induced transparency,” Phys.Today, p. 36, July 1997.

6. J. P. Marangos, “Topical review: Electromagnetically inducedtransparency,” J. Modern Optics, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 471-503 (1998).

7. C. Liu, Z. Dutton, C. H. Behroozi, and L. V. Hau, “Observation ofcoherent optical information storage in an atomic medium using haltedlight pulses,” Nature, vol. 409, p. 490, January 2001.

8. D. F. Phillips, A. Fleischhauer, A. Mair, R. L. Walsworth, and M. D.Lukin, “Storage of light in atomic vapor,” Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 86,pp. 783-786, January 2001.

9. K. L. Vodopyanov, G. B. Serapiglia, C. Sirtori, and J. Faist,“Electromagnetically induced transparency in a three-subbandsemiconductor quantum well,” QELS, pp. 258, May 1999.

10. C. C. Phillips, E. Paspalakis, G. B. Serapiglia, C. Sirtori, and K.L. Vodopyanov, “Observation of electromagnetically induced transparencyand measurements of subband dynamics in a semiconductor quantum well,”Physica E 7, pp. 166-173 (2000).

11. K. D. Choquette, K. M. Geib, C. I. H. Ashby, R. D. Twesten, O. Blum,H. Q. Hou, D. F. Follstaedt, B. E. Hammons, D. Mathes, and R. Hull,“Advances in selective wet oxidation of AlGaAs Alloys”, IEEE J. ofSelected Topics Quantum Electron., vol. 3, pp. 916-926 (1997).

12. R. Langenhorst, M. Eiselt, W. Pieper, G. Grosskopf, R. Ludwig, L.Kuller, E. Dietrich, and H. G. Weber, “Fiber loop optical buffer,” J.Lightwave Technol., 14, 3, pp. 324-335, March 1996.

13. J. D. Moores, K. L. Hall, S. M. LePage, K. A. Rauschenbach, W. S.Wong, H. A. Haus, and E. P. Ippen, “20-GHz optical storage loop/laserusing amplitude modulation, filtering, and artificial fast saturableabsorption,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett., vol. 7, pp. 1096-1098,September 1995.

14. K. L. Hall, J. D. Moores, K. A. Rauschenbach, W. S. Wong, E. P.Ippen, and H. A. Haus, “All-optical storage of a 1.25 kb packet at 10Gb/s,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett., 7, p. 1093 (1995).

15. K. L. Hall, “40-Gbit/s optical packet buffering,” Proc. Conf. OFC,ThD3, pp. 251-252 (1997).

16. J. P. Marangos, “Electromagnetically induced transparency,” J.Modern Optics 45, 471 (1998).

17. D. F. Phillips, A. Fleischhauer, A. Mair, R. L. Walsworth, and M. D.Lukin, “Storage of Light in Atomic Vapor,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 783(2001).

18. A. V. Turukhin, V. S. Sudarshanam, M. S. Shahriar, J. A. Musser, B.S. Ham, and P. R. Hemmer, “Observation of Ultraslow and Stored LightPulses in a Solid,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 023602 (2002).

19. J. B. Khurgin, “Light slowing down in Moire fiber gratings and itsimplications for nonlinear optics,” Phys. Rev. A 62, 013821 (2000).

20. T. Kataoka, T. Tokizaki, and A. Nakamura, “Mesoscopic enhancement ofoptical nonlinearity in CuCl quantum dots: Giant-oscillator-strengtheffect on confined excitons,” Phys. Rev. B 48, 2815 (1993).

21. P. Borri, W. Langbein, S. Schneider, U. Woggon, R. L. Sellin, D.Ouyang, and D. Bimberg, “Ultralong Dephasing Time in InGaAs QuantumDots,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 157401 (2001).

22. K. Brunner et al., in Proceedings 24^(th) International Conferenceon the Physics of Semiconductors, Jerusalem, Israel, 1998.

23. J. Mori et al., “1.3-1.5 μm wavelength quantum dots self-formed inGaAs/InAs superlattices grown on InP(411) substrates,” 2001International Conference on Indium Phosphide and Related Materials,WP-63.

24. J. R. Guest, “Measurement of optical absorption by a single quantumdot exciton,” Phys. Rev. B, vol. 65, 241310R, 2002.

25. A. F. Tsatsul'nikov et al., in Proceedings 24^(th) InternationalConference on the Physics of Semiconductors, Jerusalem, Israel, 1998.

26. D. Bimberg et al., Quantum Dot Heterostructures, John Wiley & Sons,1999.

27. S. Kim et al., “Growth and characterization of InGaAs—InGaP quantumdots for midinfrared photoconductive detector,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol.73, pp. 963-965, August 1998.

28. M. Sopanen et al., “Self-assembled GaInNAs quantum dots for 1.3 and1.55 μm emission on GaAs,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 76, pp. 994-996,February 2000.

29. B. Damilano et al., “From visible to white light emission by GaNquantum dots on Si(111) substrate,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 75, pp.962-964, August 1999.

30. H. S. Hirayama, in Proceedings of 2^(nd) International Conference onNitride Semiconductors, Tokushima, Japan, p. 472. 1997.

31. J. Porsche et al., “Growth of self-assembled InP quantum islands forred-light-emitting injection lasers,” IEEE JSTQE, vol. 6, pp. 482-490,2000.

32. P. M. Thibado et al., “Evolution of GaSb epitaxy onGaAs(001)-c(4×4),” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, vol. 14, pp. 885-889, May1996.

33. H. C. Ko et al., “Self-organized CdSe quantum dots onto cleaved GaAs(110) originating from Stranski-Krastanow growth mode,” Appl. Phys.Lett., vol. 70, pp. 3278-3280, June 1997.

34. M. Lowisch et al., “Zero-dimensional excitons in (Zn,Cd)Se quantumstructures,” Phys. Rev. B, vol. 54, R11074, 1996.

35. T. Kataoka et al., “Mesoscopic enhancement of optical nonlinearityin CuCl quantum dots Giant-oscillator-strength effect on confinedexcitons,” Phys. Rev. B, vol. 48, pp. 2815-2818, July 1993.

C. Discussion of the Background Art

An optical fiber delay line, also known as a digital “optical buffer”,is one of the most important components for all-optical communicationsand optical-signal processing systems. Such a buffer must be able tostore the data packets for a substantial period of time and must be ableto release the data within an acceptable delay when the switch is clearfor routing.

The major components of a single fiber optical buffer consists of afiber loop, an optical isolator, 3-dB couplers, and severalsemiconductor laser amplifiers for the gating, interconnection, and losscompensation. All-optical storage of a 1.76 kb packet of 20 Gb/s pulsedand noise-generated data has been demonstrated using amplitudemodulation, filtering, and artificial fast saturable absorption. Inthese experiments, a pump laser for pumping an erbium-doped fiberconnected to a 12 m single-mode fiber is used with a LiNbO₃ modulator.Loading and unloading of 40 Gb/s data packets have also beendemonstrated using a fiber loop optical buffer using a similar setup.

The fundamental difficulty facing the design of an optical buffer isthat variable-length buffers must be implemented with delay lines.However, by their nature, fiber loop optical delay lines are of fixedlength. Once a packet has entered the delay line, it can only emerge ata fixed duration later. It is impossible to remove the packet from thedelay line before that time interval. Therefore, since the delay is fora fixed amount of time, this type of buffer has very limitedapplications.

However, fiber delay lines are not the only manner in which light can beslowed. There have been major breakthroughs in achieving “slow light”using the principles developed under electromagnetically inducedtransparency (EIT). Experimentally, research groups have independently“slowed down” light propagation in two different materials, a gas ofcold sodium atoms and a glass cell containing rubidium, which was heatedup to create rubidium vapor. Slow-down factors as high as seven ordersof magnitude (down to 17 m/s) have been reported in both atomic vaporcells and Pr doped Y₂SiO₅ crystals. The slow light principle is based oncreating destructive interference between two optical transitions inelectronic states by means of an optical pump field, modifying thedispersion spectrum experienced by the optical signal. Other mechanismssuch as a Moire grating have also been proposed to modify the dispersivecharacteristics.

A large group velocity reduction can be achieved in a medium withoutloss and the minimum dispersion by looking at the relationship ofv_(g)(ω) and χ(ω), the susceptibility of the medium. The real andimaginary part of the susceptibility χ′(ω) and χ″(ω) are related by theKramers-Kronig relations. The refractive index and the group velocitycan then be expressed in terms of the real and imaginary part of thecomplex susceptibility. The group velocity can be expressed as$v_{g} = \frac{c}{\left( {n + {\omega\quad\frac{\partial n}{\partial\omega}}} \right)_{\omega = \omega_{0}}}$

The dispersion parameter D (ps/nm-km) can be expressed as$D = {{- \frac{2\pi}{\lambda^{2}}}\left( {{2\frac{\mathbb{d}n}{\mathbb{d}\omega}} + {\omega\quad\frac{d^{2}n}{d\quad\omega^{2}}}} \right)_{\omega = \omega_{0}}}$

For a large velocity reduction, a large and positive dn(ω)/dω isnecessary; whereas for a small D, a small and negative d²n(ω)/dω² isdesirable. For a small loss, χ″(ω) must be minimized.

A typical 2-level transition does not satisfy these criteria. However,these criteria can be met for a three level system, |1>, |2> and |3>.FIG. 1A shows a three-level (1, 2, 3) system with the coupling laser inresonance with states 2 and 3, resulting in a set of dressed states onthe right. There are three basic energy level schemes for a three-levelsystem interacting with two near-resonance electromagnetic fields, aladder or cascade system (E₁<E₂<E₃), a Λ scheme (E₁<E₃<E₂), and aV-scheme (E₂<E₁ and E₃), where, as can be seen in FIG. 1A, |1> to |2>,and |2> to |3> transitions are dipole allowed, while |1> to |3> isgenerally dipole forbidden (metastable). By optically pumping the systemwith an energy corresponding to E₃-E₂, we induce a coherence interactionbetween |2> and |3> and effectively split energy state |2> into twocoherently coupled dressed states of |2 d> and |3 d>. More discussionson the subject of the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)effect and quantum coherence can be found in the literature. As the twonew states are coherent, the real and imaginary susceptibility spectrafor the dressed states can be represented by FIG. 1B. It can be seenthat, for a photon energy in between the two transitions, the firstderivative of n(ω) can be very large and positive. By carefullydesigning the linewidth of the two transitions, the absorption and thesecond derivative and, effectively, D can all be minimized. As thecoherence of the two new states is provided by the optical pump beam, acontrolled velocity reduction factor (optical memory size) may beobtained by tailoring the intensity or detuning of this pump beam.

In semiconductor materials systems, EIT has been observed at T=30 Kusing three levels in the quantized conduction band of an n-type dopedquantum-well structure. In particular, it was found that the absorptionof the 1 to 2 state transition in a 1-2-3 ladder configuration issignificantly reduced when the pump (control) field is tuned to halfenergy of the 1 to 3 level transition energy with a simultaneoussplitting of the absorption peak on both sides of the peak absorptionwavelength, as expected from the imaginary part of the susceptibility(dashed curve) in FIG. 1B. As a result of the control field, theoriginally absorbing medium becomes transparent at the center frequency,yet the group velocity will decrease significantly as expected from thereal part of the susceptibility (solid curve) in FIG. 1B.

As expected from a semiconductor quantum well (QW) structure, thedensity of states is continuous and the resulting EIT effect is smalland observed only at low temperatures. The development of quantum dots(QD) and quantum wires for optical emitters is a topic of intenseresearch due to the theoretical promise of ultra-low threshold currentsand temperature independent emission characteristics of such structures.However, technical realization of the full potential of such structuresis still seriously hampered by the variability of the currentlyavailable material that is based on the self-organized growth of suchlow-dimensional structures. The best laser results currently areobtained from self-assembled InAs QDs on a GaAs substrate. The effect ofstrain (lattice mismatch) appears to be a major cause for the improvedoptical quality.

Therefore, there is a need for a technique to increase the coherentinteraction of the states and obtain a large slow-down factor at roomtemperature. There is also a need for a medium that can slow down thegroup velocity of optical transmission with a controlled slow-downfactor such that the medium is effectively an optical memory via truetime delay. By controlling this group velocity reduction factor, thememory length can be adjusted to the desired values with minimum pulsedispersion or optical loss.

A further need exists for an optical buffer on compound semiconductorusing photonic bandgap engineered quantum-dot (QD) devices. By using QDin photonic crystals, much sharper energy levels on semiconductors canbe achieved, which is required for attaining EIT. This will result ingroup velocity reduction and thus switchable optical memory in suchsamples.

There have been a lot of research efforts on quantum dots (QD) and QDdevices. To date, however, none has yielded optical devices withexpected properties. This is primarily due to processing difficulty,which typically creates either highly nonuniform dots or dots with manysurface defects. The nonuniformity introduces significant inhomogeneousbroadening, which reduces the effectiveness of energy quantization.However, the defects lead to recombination centers, making the materialinferior for optical applications.

There are many major advantages for all-optical buffers on compoundsemiconductor, rather than Si or optical fiber. Optical loss is a majortrade-off with a large group velocity reduction and low dispersion. Theuse of compound semiconductors enables distributed integration ofsemiconductor optical amplifiers and buffers. Further integration withoptical waveguiding structure, a control laser and optical coupler areall advantageous.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

All-optical packet switched network is highly promising for nextgeneration broadband optical fiber communications. One most critical andyet missing component is an all-optical buffer. Accordingly, theforegoing needs are met by the present invention which comprises asemiconductor-based variable optical buffer. In accordance with thepresent invention, the buffering effect is achieved by slowing down theoptical signal using a control light source to vary the dispersioncharacteristic of the medium. A slow-down factor of more than 10⁴ withnegligible group velocity dispersion is achievable.

An optical buffer according to the present invention will be importantfor a number of applications in communications. First, it is a true timedelay with a variable and bit-controllable delay. This can be useful forantenna remoting and beam forming applications. Secondly, it is anall-optical memory, a fundamental building block for photonic switchingand all-optical packet-switched network applications. Finally, the delaytime of the inventive device will be on a bit by bit base, i.e. with acontrol time constant faster than the bit rate of the data transmitted.Hence, this device can perform a unique time-domain transformation, i.e.transforming an analog signal in the control beam to the time delay of adigital signal in the signal beam. This function will find applicationsin all-optical signal processing and optical analog-to-digitalconversion.

An aspect of the invention is to use electromagnetically inducedtransparency (EIT) as a cornerstone of an optical buffer. By way ofexample, and not of limitation, as a special case of EIT, thepropagation speed of light in a medium can be slowed down considerablyusing a control laser. Another aspect of the invention is to use thecontrollable slow light to make an all-optical optical buffer, where thememory size is determined by the slow-down factor and the length of themedium.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide a semiconductor-baseddigital optical buffer. By way of further example, the present inventionuses photonic bandgap engineering in conjunction with strained quantumwells (QWs) and quantum dots (QDs) to achieve room temperature operationof EIT. Photonic crystals are used to sharpen the spectral linewidths ina quantum well structure due to its density of states and in aquantum-dot structure caused by the inhomogeneity of the dot size,typically observed in state-of-the-art QD materials.

Another aspect of the invention is a 3D photonic bandgap-engineeredmaterial (3D Bragg cell) involving the fabrication of buried AlOxchannels. By way of further example, growth on a patterned substrate isused to create Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)As layers with laterally varied Alcomposition x, and thereby creating periodic channels with high Alconcentration. These channels can subsequently be made into AlOx usingwet thermal oxidation based on the fact that the oxidation rate has anexponential dependence on x. Multiple layers of such channels can becreated in one single growth or multiple growths to create a 3D photoniccrystal made of buried AlOx. The advantages include facilitation ofcurrent injection structure and minimized defects typically found inetched structures. Further, due to the large index difference, a smallnumber of pairs of AlOx channels will be sufficient to eliminatetransitions at the desired wavelengths.

Another aspect of the invention comprises strained self-assembledquantum dots, such as highly strained InAs QDs grown on a GaAssubstrate, or InAsP or InGaAsP QDs grown on an InP substrate.

An aspect of the invention also pertains to controlling slow-light usingan electric field. The use of semiconductor quantum structures (e.g.,quantum wells (QW), quantum wires (QWW) and quantum dots (QD))facilitates the use of an electric field to control the coupling of thequantized states. The electric field can be used to reduce the requiredsharpness in energy transitions and optical intensity of the controllaser in structures such as coupled compressive strained QWs, coupledtensile QWs, coupled strained QWs with compressive and tensile strain,and strained InAs compressive quantum dot structure. The goal is toengineer the interband and intersubband optical transition dipolemoments for optimized effects in EIT and to use electric field tocontrol the coupling strength. Though a pump laser is still necessary,the control signal may be carried by the electric field, allowing afaster and more precise control.

Still another aspect of the invention is to provide for monolithicintegration of an optical buffer with an amplifier and control laser.Monolithic integration of optoelectronic devices presents a tremendousadvantage over other material systems as candidates for optical buffers.Typical design trade-offs of slow-light media include control laseroptical intensity and propagating optical loss. The former determinesthe tolerable linewidths of the transition states and the latter, theoptical memory size. In general, the maximum optical intensity that canbe coupled into a semiconductor waveguide structure is determined by thecatastrophic optical damage (COD) limits of the facets. The opticalintensity limit can be increased by several orders of magnitude if thecontrol laser is monolithically integrated with the slow-light medium.Further, the memory size constraint imposed by propagation loss can bealleviated by integrating an optical amplifier (or distributedamplifiers).

It will be appreciated that the advantages of the inventivesemiconductor-based variable optical buffer are numerous compared to gascells (typically containing Rb or Na gases) and fiber optical delaylines. These advantages include compactness, low power consumption, andmonolithic integration with electronic and other optoelectronic devices,such as amplifiers, lasers, optical couplers, modulators, andphotodetectors. The semiconductor-based devices can be fabricated in anarray. Furthermore, the control of optical memory may be in the form ofanother laser beam, such as in existing slow-light demonstrations, ormost interestingly in the form of an electric field or voltage source.

Another aspect of the inventive device, which simulates the sharptransitions of an atomic vapor, is to increase the coherent interactionof the states and obtain a large slow-down factor at room temperature.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide a method of fabrication ofan all-optical buffer on compound semiconductors. The basic idea centerson making a medium that can slow down the group velocity of opticaltransmission with a controlled slow-down factor such that the medium iseffectively an optical memory via true time delay. By controlling thisgroup velocity reduction factor, the memory length can be adjusted tothe desired values with minimum pulse dispersion or optical loss.

A still further aspect of the invention is to fabricate optical buffersin compound semiconductor at room temperature using photonic bandgapengineered quantum-dot (QD) devices. Using QD in photonic crystals, muchsharper energy levels on semiconductors can be achieved, which isrequired for attaining EIT.

Another aspect of the invention is to enable distributed integration ofsemiconductor optical amplifiers and buffers through the use of compoundsemiconductors.

A still further aspect of the invention is to integrate a control laserand optical coupler in an optical waveguiding structure.

Further advantages and aspects of the invention will be brought out inthe following portions of the specification, wherein the detaileddescription is for the purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodimentsof the invention without placing limitations thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be more fully understood by reference to thefollowing drawings which are for illustrative purposes only and wherelike reference numbers denote like elements:

FIG. 1A is a diagram of a three-level (-1, 2, 3) system with thecoupling laser in resonance with states 2 and 3, resulting in a set ofdressed states.

FIG. 1B is a graph of showing the real and imaginary part ofsusceptibility for the dressed states shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a three-level system with two close spaced upperlevels where the transition between the two upper levels is forbidden.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between group velocityreduction factor, absorption coefficient and energy spacing between twoupper levels in a simulated three-level system with a vacuum background.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between dispersion and energyspacing between two upper levels for the simulated three-level systemassociated with FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the group velocityreduction factor and absorption coefficient in a simulated three-levelsystem with a GaAs background.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between group velocityreduction factor and energy spacing between two uppers levels in asimulated three-level system, and comparing that relationship for avacuum background and a GaAs background.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between absorptioncoefficient and energy spacing between two uppers levels in a simulatedthree-level system, and comparing that relationship for a vacuumbackground and a GaAs background.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a variable all-optical shift registeraccording to the present invention, and showing cascading of multipleshift registers to increase the capacity of the register size.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing MOCVD growth of a single AlAschannel layer on a patterned substrate in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional (3D) photonicbandgap crystal made of periodic repeated buried AlOx channels inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional (3D) Bragg cell inaccordance with the present invention where a quantum well region issandwiched by 3D AlOx channels and where a “defect” or half-wave centercreates an optical cavity for coherent interference.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a variable semiconductor all-opticalbuffer in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing slow-down factor and absorption coefficientas a function of pump power density at three different linewidth regimesfor the optical buffer shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the influence of ℏγ₃₁ on slow-down factor,absorption coefficient and required pump power density at threedifferent linewidth regimes for the optical buffer shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a system block diagram of an implementation of a variablesemiconductor all-optical buffer in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic top view of an integrated monolithicimplementation of the system shown in FIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

1. Introduction

It will be appreciated that a class of semiconductor-based devices thatcan slow or store light can have a variety of applications, particularlythose in optical communications. Such a class of devices can befabricated in accordance with the present invention using thethree-level atomic system in which the two upper levels are closelyspaced and the signal wavelength is the average of the differencebetween each of the upper level to the ground state. Large refractiveindex dispersion with low absorption experienced by the optical signalresults in a reduction of signal velocity and, therefore, the timerequired for the signal to pass through the device. Optical amplifierscan then be used to compensate the propagation loss. The size of thedevice is determined by the amount of signal velocity reduction, whichis a function of the energy spacing between two upper levels. Externalfield, such as voltage and pressure, can be used to tune the spacing andtherefore change the delay time. In terms of digital opticalcommunication, this delay corresponds to the number of bits shifted bythe shift register. Additionally, the register size is linearly scalableby series cascading.

The present invention is based on decreasing the propagation speed ofthe optical signal by reducing the group velocity of the signal. This isaccomplished by engineering a large dispersion to decrease the groupvelocity. The advantages of this approach are two-fold: (i) it istransparent to bit-rate and wavelength of the optical signal, and (ii)the amount of delay is controllable by changing the dispersion.

The optical signal propagation speed is determined by the group velocityof the signal and is defined by${{v_{g} \equiv \frac{c}{\quad{n + {\omega\frac{\mathbb{d}n}{\mathbb{d}\omega}}}}}}_{0}$where n is the refractive index as a function of frequency ω, c is thespeed of light in vacuum and the derivative is evaluated at the carrierfrequency of the signal. For convenience, the above formula and relatedformulas are based on SI units.

If the derivative of the refractive index with respect to the frequencyis positive and large, we see that the group velocity is reduced by afactor n+ω^(dn)/dω|₀. From Kramers-Kronig relation, the refractive indexfor any media is related to the absorption spectrum of the same mediathrough Kramers-Kronig relation. There is a large magnitude ofderivative of the refractive index with respect to the frequency thatcan be achieved with single absorption peak but the sign is negative.However, in the case where there are two closely spaced absorptionpeaks, a large positive derivative can be achieved. On the other hand,since the second derivative in the latter case is zero or close to zero,the optical signal will not experience distortion when propagatingthrough the media. Large group velocity reduction has been previouslyreported in experiments by various researchers using electromagneticallyinduced transparently (EIT) but creating two absorption peaks using EITrequired sophisticated experimental setups.

In the present invention, there are three criteria that are importantfor achieving successful reduction of group velocity: (i) three sharp,in the sense that the linewidth is small, energy levels in which thespacing between two upper levels is much smaller than the spacingbetween either of the upper levels and the ground state; (ii) opticaltransition between the ground state and either of the upper levels isallowed; and (iii) there are some carriers present in the ground state.

The absorption spectrum preferably should be positive in the sense thatabsorption rather than gain occurs. If there are two gain peaks insteadof two absorption peaks, the sign of the first derivative of therefractive index with respect to the frequency negative is obtained. Asingle gain peak can yield a positive derivative but will exhibit alarge second derivative; hence the signal will experience severedistortion. Examples of the configurations are strongly coupled quantumdots, pure or mixtured atomic gas such as rubidium or cesium, and dopedoptical fiber.

Consider a three-level system with two closely spaced upper levels asshown in FIG. 2 and assume the transition between the two upper levelsis forbidden. The susceptibility X can be obtained semi-classicallythrough density matrix formulism by treating atoms quantum mechanicallyand electromagnetic waves classically. Kramers-Kronig relation relatesthe real and imaginary part of the susceptibility, with the followingresults assuming that the exchange of carriers between two upper levelsis included into the linewidths of each of the upper states:$\begin{matrix}{{{{Re}\left\lbrack {\chi(\omega)} \right\rbrack} \equiv {\chi^{\prime}(\omega)}} = {\sum\limits_{n = 1}^{2}{\frac{\mu_{n}^{2}T_{2n}\Delta\quad N_{0n}}{ɛ_{0}\hslash}\quad\frac{\left( {\omega_{0n} - \omega} \right)T_{2n}}{1 + {\left( {\omega_{0n} - \omega} \right)^{2}T_{2n}^{2}} + {4\Omega_{n}^{2}T_{2n}\tau_{n}}}}}} \\{{{{Im}\left\lbrack {\chi(\omega)} \right\rbrack} \equiv {\chi^{''}(\omega)}} = {\sum\limits_{n = 1}^{2}{\frac{\mu_{n}^{2}T_{2n}\Delta\quad N_{0n}}{ɛ_{0}\hslash}\quad\frac{1}{1 + {\left( {\omega_{0n} - \omega} \right)^{2}T_{2n}^{2}} + {4\Omega_{n}^{2}T_{2n}\tau_{n}}}}}}\end{matrix}$where n is the index of the upper energy levels, T₂ is the dephasingtime constant between the upper level and ground state |0>, τ is thelifetime from the excited states (either in |1> or |2>) to go back tothe ground state, ω₀ is the frequency spacing between the upper leveland ground state, ∈₀ is the dielectric constant in vacuum, μ is theelectric dipole moment due to the external applied electromagneticfield, and Ω is the Rabi's frequency defined by Ω=μE₀/2ℏ. If τ issmaller than T₂, then all the T₂s in the above formula for χ should bereplaced by τ.

Also consider a one-dimensional problem that an optical signal withcarrier frequency ω₀ propagates through this three-level atomic system.The group velocity of this signal pulse will be reduced by a factor thatis determined by the dispersion relation between ω and k. Thisdispersion relationship in the problem is completely determined by theinteraction between the optical signal and atoms provided that thesystem is homogeneous. In a waveguide structure, it is necessary to addthe contribution from the waveguide structure, but this will not changethe major result derived for the homogeneous media that will be assumedin the following discussion. The solution for Maxwell equations in alinear, homogeneous medium can be Fourier expanded by normal modes withdefinite frequency. Each normal mode can be further expanded withdifferent k vectors as follows:{right arrow over (E)}(z,t)=∫∫dkdω{right arrow over(A)}(k,ω)exp(ikz−iωt).The two integrating variables k and ω are not independent because wedemand the field strength to be the solution of the Maxwell equation.The relationship between k and ω describes the interaction between thelaser beam and the atoms as follows:$k = {{\sqrt{ɛ_{0}\left( {1 + {\chi(\omega)}} \right)}\quad\frac{\omega}{c}} \equiv {\sqrt{ɛ(\omega)}\quad\frac{\omega}{c}} \equiv {\frac{n\quad\omega}{c}.}}$This normal mode expansion has the advantage that quantization can bedone simply by replacing the amplitude A (k, ω) by the correspondingannihilation operator a in Fock's space. Therefore hereafter we will usethe terms photons and laser beam interchangeably. Note, however, thatthis quantization procedure actually only holds for vector potential A.There will be a sign change for the negative frequency part of theelectric field the electric field is quantized, but the major resultsremain the same.

The value n defined above is a complex number and has the meaning ofrefractive index when it becomes a real number; that is, the dielectricconstant or susceptibility becomes a real quantity. Note that thecomplex dielectric constant ∈ is defined in many textbooks as:$ɛ = {\left( {n + \frac{{\mathbb{i}}\quad\alpha\quad c}{2\omega}} \right)^{2}.}$This definition, however, only makes sense when ∈ is a positivequantity. In general, however, it does not hold true when the frequencyis close to the resonance. Therefore, this definition will not be usedin the discussion herein. Instead, the focus will be on thesusceptibility that has direct relationship with the microscopic atomicsystem. Wavevector k is a function of the frequency. Given χ(ω), bothk(ω) the inverse ω(k) can be obtained. While either k(ω) or ω(k) can bechosen, the latter will be used in this discussion to conform to most ofthe literature.

For pulses that have finite extent in the k space expansion, ω(k) can beTaylor expanded as follows:$\quad{{{{{{{{\quad{{\omega(k)} = {{\omega\left( k_{0} \right)} + \frac{\mathbb{d}\omega}{\mathbb{d}k}}}}}_{k = k_{0}}{\quad{\left( {k - k_{0}} \right) + {\frac{1}{2!}\quad\frac{d^{2}\omega}{d\quad k^{2}}}}}}}_{k = k_{0}}\left( {k - k_{0}} \right)^{2}} + \ldots}k_{0}} = {\left. {{\sqrt{ɛ\quad\left( \omega_{0} \right)}\quad\frac{\quad\omega}{c}}{v_{g} \equiv \frac{\mathbb{d}\omega}{\mathbb{d}k}}} \middle| {}_{0}{\equiv {\frac{c}{\left. {n + {{\omega^{dn}/d}\quad\omega}} \right|_{0}}\text{where}\quad n}} \right. = {\sqrt{ɛ_{0}\left( {1 + {\chi(\omega)}} \right)}.}}}$Again, the group velocity defined above is in general a complexquantity. The physical meaning of the group velocity should only betaken when it becomes a real number. When the imaginary part of thesusceptibility is not zero and is large, it is more appropriate todescribe the pulse propagation by an absorption coefficient (in units[1/cm]) defined by${\alpha(\omega)} = \frac{{\omega\chi}^{''}(\omega)}{c\sqrt{1 + {\chi^{\prime}(\omega)}}}$where χ(ω)=χ′(ω)+iχ″(ω).In order to achieve large reduction of the group velocity without beingabsorbed at the same time, two very close spaced upper levels areneeded. This configuration will yield a large positive derivative of thesusceptibility with respect to the frequency. On the other hand, sincethe second derivative is nearly zero, there is minimum dispersion and,therefore, minimum distortion to the shape of the pulse when itpropagates through the system.

The distortion of the pulse due to dispersion can be characterized bythe dispersion parameter D defined as$D = {{- \frac{2\pi}{\lambda^{2}}}\left( {{2\frac{\mathbb{d}n}{\mathbb{d}\omega}} + {\omega\frac{\quad{d^{2}n}}{d\quad\omega^{2}}}} \right)_{\omega = \omega_{0}}}$where D (in units [ps/km-nm]). Again, D has physical meaning only when nbecomes real.

Using the above results, the group velocity reduction factor can becalculated, as can the absorption coefficient and the dispersionparameter. In the following simulations, the following parameters areassumed and we work on wavelength instead of frequency domain:μ₁=μ₂ ≈er=1.6×10−¹⁹×3×10⁻⁸ (cm) atom size

Electric field amplitude $E_{0} \approx \sqrt{\frac{2I}{ɛ_{0}}}$where I is the optical intensity=1 mW

-   -   ω₀=1.55 μm    -   pulse width>0.25 ps        Using the following identities,        $\omega = {\frac{2\pi\quad c}{\lambda}\quad\text{(where~~λ~~is~~the~~wavelength~~in~~the~~vacuum)}}$        $\frac{\mathbb{d}}{\mathbb{d}\omega} = {{- \frac{\lambda^{2}}{2\pi\quad c}}\frac{\mathbb{d}}{\mathbb{d}\lambda}}$        $\frac{\mathbb{d}^{2}}{\mathbb{d}\omega^{2}} = {\frac{\lambda^{3}}{\left( {2\pi\quad c} \right)^{2}}\left\lbrack {{2\frac{\mathbb{d}}{\mathbb{d}\lambda}} + {\lambda\frac{\mathbb{d}^{2}}{\mathbb{d}\lambda^{2}}}} \right\rbrack}$        the group velocity reduction factor, the absorption coefficient        and the dispersion parameter can be rewritten in the wavelength        domain as        $v_{g} = {\frac{c}{n + {\omega\quad\frac{\mathbb{d}n}{\mathbb{d}\omega}}} = \frac{c}{n - {\lambda\frac{\mathbb{d}n}{\mathbb{d}\lambda}}}}$        ${\alpha(\lambda)} = {\frac{2\pi}{\lambda}\frac{\chi^{''}(\lambda)}{\sqrt{1 + {\chi^{\prime}(\lambda)}}}}$        $D = \left. {{- \frac{\lambda}{c}}\quad\frac{\mathbb{d}^{2}n}{\mathbb{d}\quad\lambda}} \right|_{0}$        for λ in [nm], c=3×10⁵ [km/s], and D [ps/km/nm]. In a first        simulation, dephasing time and upperstate lifetime are assumed        to be 1 ns and 1 μs, respectively. For example, referring to        FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, if the group velocity reduction factor is        100, for a device with length 0.126 cm, the output power level        will drop to half of the input level and the total delay time        duration achieved is 0.42 ns which corresponds to 4-bits in a 10        Gb/s optical link. As another example, if the group velocity        reduction factor is 50, for same power penalty as above, a total        delay of 1.16 ns (11.6 bits for 10 Gb/s optical link) for 0.69        cm device can be achieved.

In a second simulation, silica fiber was considered as a background. Atroom temperature, the refractive index at 1.55 pm for a silica fiber isnearly a constant for the wavelength span of interest. Therefore, thecontribution from this background refractive index that takes the value1.444 at 1.55 μm can simply be added.

Referring to FIG. 5, in a third simulation consider GaAs with someimpurities introduced to achieve this three level system. The ground hasto be a sharp level as well and, therefore, the conduction band cannotbe used as the ground state. Instead, it is necessary to use theexcitonic peak or some impurities that have definite energy level inorder to preserve the feature of three-level system and therefore havetwo sharply defined absorption peaks. The ground state in the followingsimulation is assumed to be very close to the conduction band so thatthe experimental value of the GaAs refractive index can still be used asa good approximation.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, as a comparison, if the group velocityreduction factor is 100, for a device with length 0.267 cm, the outputpower level will drop to half of the input level and the total delaytime duration achieved is 0.89 ns which corresponds to 9 bits in a 10Gb/s optical link. However, if the group velocity reduction factor is50, for same power penalty as above, a total delay of 0.58 ns (6 bitsfor 10 Gb/s optical link) for a 0.347 cm device can be achieved. Notethat the latter example gives the worst result compared to the vacuumbackground. This is because the absorption saturates at a higher levelwhen spacing between two upper levels is large enough. The dispersion isexactly the same as in the vacuum background case.

From the above theoretical analysis, as well as numerical simulation, itwas found that the reduction factor of the group velocity for theoptical signal is a function of the spacing between two upper levels(referred to as Δ in the following discussion) in the three-level atomicsystem shown in FIG. 2. If Δ is tuned, then the reduction factor can becontrolled

Several mechanisms can be used to change the spacing between two upperlevels. In the case where those two states are generated by strongcoupling between two quantum dots in semiconductors, Δ can be controlledby adjusting the coupling strength between these quantum dots. Examplesof ways that this can be done are: applying voltage, changing thetemperature, applying pressure, applying acoustic wave through thedevices, and so forth. All of these methods are feasible as can be seenfrom the following discussion.

First, consider two strongly coupled quantum dots with coupling in the ydirection by placing two quantum dots closely together. The separationbetween them is denoted as d and the cubic quantum dot with size of Lare assumed in the following analysis. To solve the energy levels ofthis strongly coupled system, the Schroedinger equation is solved. Theenergy of either of the two upper levels can be divided into threecomponents as follows:E ₁ =E _(x) +E _(z) +E _(y1)E ₂ =E _(x) +E _(z) +E _(y2)where the two levels have the energies for their x and z component.E_(y2)−E_(y1)=Δ is the energy separation between two upper levels. Thewavefunctions for these two upper levels have opposite polarities. Byapplying an electric field across the y direction, the energy level willbe shifted by an amount that can be calculated from time-independentperturbation theory as follows:${E_{y1}({new})} = {{E_{y1}\left( {v = 0} \right)} - \frac{{H_{12}^{\prime}}^{2}}{{E_{y2}\left( {V = 0} \right)} - {E_{y1}\left( {V = 0} \right)}}}$${E_{y2}({new})} = {{E_{y1}\left( {v = 0} \right)} + \frac{{H_{12}^{\prime}}^{2}}{{E_{y2}\left( {V = 0} \right)} - {E_{y1}\left( {V = 0} \right)}}}$where opposite polarity of two wavefunctions have been used andinteraction energy H is defined by|H′ ₁₂|²=|<2|eV|1>|²where V is applied voltage and e is electric charge. It can be seen thatthe amount of tuning is proportional to the square of applied voltage.

By changing the temperature, the physical size between two quantum dotscan be changed by thermal expansion. Because there different thermalexpansion coefficients for the quantum dots and the region in betweenthe dots, L and d can be controlled by tuning the temperature. Since Δis a function of overlap between wavefunctions in two quantum dots inthe y direction, Δ can be changed by changing d and, therefore, theoverlap between the wavefunctions. By changing L, a change to E₁ and E₂will result; this can provide speed to tune the device to match thesignal wavelength. By applying pressure, acoustic wave, the physicalsize of L and d can also be changed, therefore resulting in tuning of Δas in the case of temperature tuning described above. Furthermore, byadopting the implementation of doped fiber as the device structure, Δcan be tuned by applying pressure to the fiber or sending an acousticwave across the fiber. In the case of atomic gas, tuning can be achievedby changing temperature or changing the pressure inside the cell whichcontains the atomic gas.

In the implementation of a variable all-optical shift register orbuffer, it is desirable to control the amount of delay between zero andinfinity. The absorption observed in the above simulation, however,limits the amount of delay for each single device before the signaldrops experiences 3 dB drop. This problem can be solved by combining thegroup-velocity-reduction device with an optical amplifier, such as anerbium-doped fiber amplifier, Raman amplifier, or semiconductor opticalamplifier. This is illustrated in FIG. 8. Each VOSR (Variableall-Optical Shift Register) 10 is a three level atomic system withtuning control. Each VOSR 10 is combined with an optical amplifier 12,denoted as A, to compensate the loss due to absorption in the VOSR. Theunit 14, comprising a VOSR and optical amplifier, can be then cascadedto increase the capacity of register size. The scaling is linear; ifeach unit can accommodate N bits of optical signal, then the totalregister size is NM if M units are cascaded.

2. Semiconductor Quantum Dot Materials.

Semiconductor quantum dots are semiconductor nanostructures withthree-dimensional potential confinement for both electrons and holes.The potential confinement results in quantization of the energy levelsfor both electrons and holes. The quantization then results discreteenergy levels with sharp linewidths. Quantum dots have sizes typicallycomparable to the de Broglie wavelengths for both electrons and holes.The potential confinement can be, but not necessarily, provided byanother semiconductor material which possess larger bandgap betweenconduction and valence bands. There have been several fabricationmethods demonstrated to form semiconductor quantum dots. They includelithographic technique, interface fluctuations and self-organized growth(see, Bimberg et al., Quantum Dot Heterostructures, Chapters 2, 4 and 6,John Wiley & Sons, 1999). Materials suitable for quantum dots includeSiGe; most of the III-V binary, ternary, and quaternary compounds; mostof the II-VI binary, ternary, and quaternary compounds; and some I-VIIcompounds. III-V materials include arsenide-based compounds,phosphide-based compounds, antimonide-based compounds and nitride-basedcompounds. II-VI materials include sulfide-based compounds,selenide-based compounds, and telluride-based compounds.

Optical buffer devices according to the present invention as based onthe use of semiconductor materials that exhibit direct bandgaps.Examples of specific materials that have been determined to have directbandgap and which are suitable for use in the present invention include,but are not limited to:

(a) SiGe on Si substrates (see, K. Brunner et al., in Proceedings24^(th) International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors,Jerusalem, Israel, 1998).

(b) (III-V binary arsenide-based) GaAs—InAs on InP substrates (See, J.Mori et al., “1.3-1.5 μm wavelength quantum dots self-formed inGaAs/InAs superlattices grown on InP(411) substrates,” 2001International Conference on Indium Phosphide and Related Materials,WP-63).

(c) (III-V binary arsenide-based) GaAs—Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)As on GaAssubstrates, 0<=x<=1 (see, J. R. Guest, “Measurement of opticalabsorption by a single quantum dot exciton,” Phys. Rev. B, vol. 65,241310R, 2002).

(d) (III-V binary arsenide-based) InAs—GaAs on Si substrates (see, A. F.Tsatsul'nikov et al., in Proceedings 24^(th) International Conference onthe Physics of Semiconductors, Jerusalem, Israel, 1998).

(e) (III-V ternary arsenide-based) In_(x)Ga_(1-x)As—Al_(y)Ga_(1-y)As onGaAs substrates, 0<=x<=1; 0<=y<=1 (the first material is the quantum dotmaterial and second material is the matrix which provides the potentialbarrier for three-dimensional confinement; see D. Bimberg et al.,Quantum Dot Heterostructures, Chapters 2, 4 and 6, John Wiley & Sons,1999).

(f) (III-V ternary arsenide-based) In_(x)Ga_(1-x)As—InGaP on GaAssubstrates (see, S. Kim et al., “Growth and characterization ofInGaAs—InGaP quantum dots for midinfrared photoconductive detector,”Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 73, pp. 963-965, August 1998).

(g) (III-V quaternary arsenide-based) GaInNAs—GaAs on GaAs substrates(see, M. Sopanen et al., “Self-assembled GaInNAs quantum dots for 1.3and 1.55 μm emission on GaAs,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 76, pp. 994-996,February 2000).

(h) (III-V binary nitride-based) GaN—AlN on Si substrates (see, B.Damilano et al., “From visible to white light emission by GaN quantumdots on Si(111) substrate,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 75, pp. 962-964,August 1999).

(i) (III-V binary nitride-based) InGaN—AlGaN (see, H. S. Hirayama, inProceedings of 2^(nd) International Conference on NitrideSemiconductors, Tokushima, Japan, p. 472. 1997).

(j) (III-V binary phosphide-based) InP—InGaP on GaAs substrates (see, J.Porsche et al., “Growth of self-assembled InP quantum islands forred-light-emitting injection lasers,” IEEE JSTQE, vol. 6, pp. 482-490,2000).

(k) (III-V binary antimonide-based) GaSb—GaAs on GaAs substrates (see,P. M. Thibado et al., “Evolution of GaSb epitaxy on GaAs(001)-c(4×4),”J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, vol. 14, pp. 885-889, May 1996).

(l) (II-VI binary selenide based) CdSe—GaAs (see, H. C. Ko et al.,“Self-organized CdSe quantum dots onto cleaved GaAs (110) originatingfrom Stranski-Krastanow growth mode,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 70, pp.3278-3280, June 1997).

(m) (II-VI ternary selenide-based) Zn_(x)Cd_(1-x)Se—ZnSe, 0<=x<=1 (see,M. Lowisch et al., “Zero-dimensional excitons in (Zn,Cd)Se quantumstructures,” Phys. Rev. B, vol. 54, R11074, 1996).

(n) (I-VII) CuCl-glass (see, T. Kataoka et al., “Mesoscopic enhancementof optical nonlinearity in CuCl quantum dots Giant-oscillator-strengtheffect on confined excitons,” Phys. Rev. B, vol. 48, pp. 2815-2818, July1993).

3. General Design Criteria for Strained QWs and QDs in Photonic BandgapMaterials

To overcome the unsuitability for use in optical applications exhibitedby conventional quantum dots (QD) and QD devices, a variablesemiconductor optical buffer according to the present invention ispreferably fabricated using a material having sharp, discrete and highlycoherent energy levels, similar to that of an atom. By fabricating a 3DBragg reflector surrounding a quantum well or quantum dot active region,we effectively create a photonic bandgap to sharpen the strained quantumwell (QW) or quantum dot (QD) energy levels. The following are majordesign criteria for such a device.

(a) Electronic States

Compressive strained QWs, tensile QWs, coupled strained QWs withcompressive and/or tensile strain, and strained InAs compressive quantumdot structures are examples of structures suitable for a variablesemiconductor optical buffer according to the invention. In a coupledquantum well structure, the two lowest levels using the two hole statesare preferably chosen; for example, the light-hole and heavy-holesubbands from coupled tensile-compressive strained quantum wells. Thegoal is to engineer the interband and intersubband optical transitiondipole moment for optimized effects in electromagnetically inducedtransparency (EIT). Although quantum well structures suffer from ahomogeneous broadening linewidth of the order of 5 meV, they have theunique property that the transition energies and dipole selection rulescan be engineered with considerable freedom and precision. On the otherhand, while quantum dots have the desirable discrete density of states,the inhomogeneity of QD size tends to broaden the spectra. To sharpenthe density of states in both quantum wells and quantum dots, spectrallinewidth can be reduced by means of the photonic bandgap.

(b) Photonic Bandgap Effects

By placing the photonic bandgap crystals above quantum wells orquantum-dot layers, the spectral density of the structure can bedetermined for both two-dimensional and three-dimensional photoniccrystals. Polarization dependence also plays an important role, sincethe control field and the signal field, and their coupling interband andintersubband optical transition dipole moments, via the dressedelectronic states, all affect the operation of the electromagneticallyinduced transparency. A waveguide structure can then be easily designedusing the photonic crystal for the guidance of the signal beam, and thecontrol field can be applied using a vertical coupling geometry or awaveguide geometry. The coherent coupling region for the control fieldand the signal field are additional aspects of the design.

(c) Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

A density-matrix approach can be used to calculate the absorptionspectrum and the refractive index spectrum of the signal wavelength inthe presence of the optical pump (control field). The control fieldaffects the electronic property to form the dressed states and serves asa variable for the optical buffer to slow down the signal beam.Accordingly, a design model can be easily developed for the opticalproperties of the strained quantum wells and quantum dots in photoniccrystals with an optical pump field present.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that QD lasers havebeen developed that exhibit threshold current and current densitycomparable to or lower than those of QW lasers. In most cases, the QDsare fabricated using highly compressively-strained InAs material on aGaAs substrate. Strained quantum-well lasers have been shown todemonstrate higher performance over their lattice-matched counterpartsin terms of reduced threshold current density, high temperatureoperation, and high-speed modulation. While there is still significantnonuniformity in that approach, the continuing improvements indicatethat approach to be very promising. Some of the most importantparameters affecting the performance of high-speed semiconductor lasersinclude the optical gain spectrum, the refractive index change withinjected current, and the linewidth enhancement factor. Accordingly, theamplified spontaneous emission, gain, and refractive index spectra ofstrained InGaAsP and InAlGaAs quantum-well lasers designed forapplications in long-wavelength 1.55 μm communication systems weremodeled in the development of the present invention. For example, thespontaneous emission intensity was modeled as an equivalent electriccurrent source of radiation and was calculated directly from Maxwell'sequations in the presence of gain. It was found that amplifiedspontaneous emission spectroscopy provides a very sensitive diagnostictool to investigate a strained semiconductor quantum well in thepresence of carrier injection by a forward voltage bias.

4. Fabrication of Buried AlAs (AlOx) Channels/ODs in Buried AlOxPhotonic Crystals

An aspect of the present invention is to fabricate highly strained QDsfrom either compressive-strained or tensile-strained materials. It willbe appreciated that strain can be achieved by varying growth conditionsand/or using organometallic materials.

The effect of 3D photonic bandgap engineering on such QD materials canbe evaluated using an inventive buried AlOx channel structure based onthe following criteria:

(a) First, it is possible to grow a layer of AlGaAs with varied Alcomposition along the plane of growth by metalorganic chemical vapordeposition (MOCVD) on a patterned substrate. This is illustrated by FIG.9 which shows a schematic of a structure 20 resulting from MOCVD growthof one AlAs channel layer 22 on a patterned substrate 24. This effecttakes place because Ga has a longer diffusion length than Al. Thus,while growing a nominal Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)As layer, one can obtain lateralvariation of x by an appreciable amount. The period of the grooves onthe patterned substrate can be on the order of sub-microns, depending ofthe growth temperature and the metal-organic compounds used. In FIG. 9,the high x Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)As (buried AlAs channels) regions 26 and thelow x Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)As regions 28 are also illustrated.

(b) Second, the wet thermal oxidation rate of Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)As has anexceedingly strong dependence on the Al concentration x. Hence, bygrowing a nominal AlGaAs layer with, for example, x=0.9, one can createregions with x>0.9 and x<0.9. A higher x will be found on the layer onthe (111) surfaces than on the (100) surfaces. The high Al contentregion can be subsequently oxidize and become AlOx. Since the wetthermal oxidation rate has a threshold like exponential dependence on Alcontent, AlOx channels can be created. Multiple layers of such channelscan be created in one single growth or multiple growths.

For example, buried AlAs channels can be fabricated using MOCVD growthon a patterned substrate with periodic grooves having a period shorterthan the Ga diffusion distance (about 1-5 μm). Using e-beam lithography,grooves can be fabricated with 0.24 μm or less period for a first ordergrating at 1.55 μm wavelength. Due to the higher mobility of Ga, ittends to migrate and grow faster on (100) surfaces. Hence, for a nominalgrowth of Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)As, such as x>0.9, a significant Al compositionvariation can be created by the patterned substrate, leaving a higher Alcomposition on (111) surfaces and a lower one on (100) surfaces. Thisstructure can be planarized easily with subsequent growth of GaAs orhigh Ga content AlGaAs. The process can be repeated to create a multiplelayers of high Al composition channels. FIG. 10 shows a schematicdiagram of a 3D photonic bandgap crystal 30 made of periodic repeatedburied AlOx channels 32 created by multiple growths on a patternedsubstrate with patterns along two perpendicular directions. The spaces34 between the channels are filled with GaAs, which is not shown in thisfigure for better clarity.

Another approach to creating the buried AlAs is to use MBE growth with ashadow-masked substrate. Using an in-situ movable mask with stripes ofwindows, stripes of AlGaAs growth can be created. By moving the mask inand out of the molecular beams, alternative layers of growth of AlGaAsstrips and planar GaAs can be formed. With this method, the substratenever needs to leave the high vacuum growth chamber and the quality canbe high. The size of the windows may be limited however.

Referring now to FIG. 11, an example of a 3D Bragg cell 40 fabricated inaccordance with the present invention and having a very high level ofquantum confinement in the active region (cavity) is schematicallyshown. In this structure, a quantum well region depicted by strainedQW-GRINSCH layer 42 is grown adjacent to a current confining AlOx layer44 and sandwiched between 3D AlOx channels 46. This requires the growthof QDs or QWs, preferably highly strained, to be sandwiched between thepatterned substrate AlGaAs growth. A “defect” or half-wave center 48creates an optical cavity for coherent interference. Due to the photonicbandgap effect, the quantum wells or quantum dots in the active regioncan be made to exhibit a higher level of quantum confinement.

It will be appreciated that an important aspect of the fabrication of aBragg cell is the patterned substrate growth formation and the selectiveoxidation process (discrimination against Al content). TEM and E-DEX inSEM can be used to identify the oxidation selectivity, and oxidationconditions such as chamber pressure and substrate temperature can becontrolled to increase selectivity of the oxidation to result in highlyconfined AlOx. The other fabrication steps of a Bragg cell laser involvestandard metallization, thermal annealing, etc.

Note also that the buried aluminum oxide thus described is highlygeneric for fabrication of ultrahigh speed and low noise lasers anddetectors, optical circuits and integrated optics, and is useful forfabricating 3D stackable optical devices.

5. ASE Spectroscopy Measurements of Group Index Spectrum

The group index, and therefore the group velocity, of an optical bufferaccording to the present invention can be measured, for example, usingeither of the following two methods: (1) amplified spontaneous emissionspectroscopy (ASE) when an active semiconductor quantum-well orquantum-dot amplifier or laser is fabricated; and (2) opticaltransmission spectroscopy (OTS) to extract the group index for a passiveoptical buffer structure.

ASE measurements can be taken using an optical spectrum analyzer. TheFabry-Perot peaks exhibit a blue shift in the presence of a largerinjection current. The gain spectrum of the laser can be measured basedon the Hakki-Paoli method for current biases below threshold. The modalgain is obtained from the peaks and valleys of the longitudinalFabry-Perot modes. The peak wavelength of each mode in the amplifiedspontaneous emission spectrum is a function of the refractive index. Theeffective (and group) index can also be extracted for each longitudinalmode in the amplified spontaneous emission spectrum.

For a passive optical buffer, the optical transmission spectrum can bemeasured to extract the group index. This can be accomplished using aspectrometer and a tunable source (erbium-doped fiber amplifier) andcouple the light with a wavelength covering a broad range into theoptical buffer and measure the transmission spectra with and without theexternal pump light. This measurement allows for the investigation ofreduction in the group velocity of the optical signal near 1.55 μmwavelength.

Note that the gain and the refractive index profiles of a strainedquantum-well laser structure can be extracted accurately by taking intoaccount the optical confinement factor. Furthermore, accurate monitoringof the differential gain and the Fabry-Perot peak shift with injectioncurrent allows measurement of the linewidth enhancement factor, whichhas a direct impact on the high-speed modulation of semiconductorlasers. Agreement between our theoretical results and experimental dataverifies the material parameters and the quantum-well band structuresused in our model and demonstrates that ASE spectroscopy provides anexcellent tool for diagnosing a strained quantum-well structure undercurrent injection.

6. Design and Fabrication of a Variable Optical Buffer

Controlled “slow down” of light according to the invention can beachieved by pumped light or applying a bias voltage across the quantumwell structure which embeds the quantum dots. For example, “slow down”of an optical signal at 1.55 μm can be controlled using a laser pump. Itcan also be controlled by a bias voltage across a coupled quantum-wellstructure in which the light-hole and heavy-hole subband energysplitting in separate tensile-compressive wells can be adjusted by theelectric field due to the voltage bias.

Since the length of an optical packet is an architecture and standardissue and, at present, very uncertain, consider a 125-Byte packet as anexample for ease of computation. A buffer in a packet router needs tohave a minimum capacity to store one entire packet, which is 1 kbits.Assuming 100 Gbps is the bandwidth per channel, 1 kbits of storage isequivalent to 10 nanosecond, and for a device that is 500 micron long, aslow down factor of 1000 is needed with a turn-on time resolution of 10picosecond (one bit).

In order to optimize the storage capacity, turn-on response time, andminimize the dispersion, it may be difficult to simultaneously optimizethe optical signal loss and required pump laser intensity. However, onthe same semiconductor substrate, it is possible to integrate asemiconductor optical amplifier to compensate for the optical losses.Further, a pump field of a power density 2 MW/cm² has been successful inquantum wells using a ladder 1-2-3 configuration. This magnitude ofpower density is equivalent to the optical power density in an indexguided semiconductor laser of 2 mW per 1 μm×0.1 μm cross section area.Thus, such an optical pump laser can be integrated on the same substrateto minimize optical loss and maintain high pump beam intensity. Theability to integrate semiconductor devices such as the pump laser andoptical amplifier is a major advantage of a variable semiconductoroptical buffer according to the present invention.

An ideal buffer should have a storage length that is adjustable by anexternal control. Furthermore, the turn-on (store) and turn-off(release) time should be shorter than a fraction of a bit period. Anall-optical buffer in accordance with the present invention addressesthese required functionalities and is based on a device design with agroup velocity that can be controllably slowed down, which effectivelyconstitutes an adjustable memory.

Accordingly, the present invention comprises a buffer using EIT in asemiconductor quantum dot (QD) structure. A schematic of an embodimentof an optical buffer 50 with a plurality of layers 52 of QDs 54 to slowdown the light according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 12.Note that the signal 56 and the pump light 58 co-propagate orcounter-propagate in the same waveguide 60. The pump light induces EITand slows down the signal light velocity. The QDs act like giant “atoms”in which the potential confinement in three dimensions creates quantizedelectron and hole levels, and the number of confined energy states canbe controlled by choosing the materials and geometries of the QDs. Inthe embodiment shown, the multiple-stacked QDs create slow light bymeans of EIT induced by the pump laser (not shown) and the pump powercontrols the slow-down factor. The grating 62 creates slow-light viaphotonic bandgap engineering and the slow-down factor is controlled byapplying a voltage or current in the vertical direction. The signalvelocity reduction factor is the product of the contributions of thegrating and QDs.

For a three-level system in which |1>⇄|2> and |2>⇄|3> transitions aredipole-allowed, the time-dependent optical dielectric constant ∈ for thesignal light can be derived from the density-matrix formulation. Forsimplicity, assume the signal (S) is weak compared to the pump (P) lightsuch that the Rabi frequencies Ω_(s)<<Ω_(p), where Ω_(i)=μ_(i)E_(i)/2ℏ(i=S or P) and E_(i) are the complex electric field amplitudes. Also,the signal and pump light frequencies are chosen to coincide with|1>⇄|2> and |2>⇄|3> transitions, respectively, but allow the signal tohave small detuning δ=ω₂₁−ω_(S) from the energy separation ℏω₂₁ between|1> and |2>. In this case, the system has optimum performance and we canwrite the dimensionless dielectric constant at the steady state for thesignal light as$ɛ = {ɛ_{bac} + \frac{U_{21}}{{\hslash\left( {\delta - {{\mathbb{i}}\quad\gamma_{21}}} \right)} - {{\hslash\Omega}_{PP}^{2}/\left( {\delta - {{\mathbb{i}}\quad\gamma_{31}}} \right)}}}$where U₂₁=(Γ/V)|μ₂₁|²(f₁−f₂)/∈₀ and Ω_(PP) ²=|μ₃₂|²I_(P)/4ℏ²c∈₀√{squareroot over (∈_(bac))}; ∈_(bac) is the background dielectric constantwithout coupling to any light; ∈₀=8.85×10⁻¹² (F/m); Γ is the opticalconfinement factor; V is the volume of the QD; I_(P) is the pump powerdensity (MW/cm²), c is the speed of the light in the vacuum; γ₂₁ is thecoherent coupling damping rate (linewidth) between QD and the signalfield; γ₃₁ accounts for the dephasing between |3> and |1>; f₁ and f₂ areFermi-Dirac occupation factors. The signal velocity is given by thegroup velocity if there is no distortion from group velocity dispersion.The signal velocity slow-down factor S, the absorption coefficient α,and the group velocity dispersion D are determined from the first andthe second derivatives of ∈ with respect to the frequency. In thefollowing discussions, we assume the signal detuning δ is zero. In thiscase, α is given by$\alpha = \frac{\sqrt{2}\omega_{S}U_{21}}{\sqrt{ɛ_{bac} + \sqrt{ɛ_{bac}^{2} + ɛ_{res}^{2}}}\hslash\quad{c\left( {\gamma_{21} + {\Omega_{PP}^{2}/\gamma_{31}}} \right)}}$and S is given by$S = {\left\lbrack \frac{ɛ_{bac} + \sqrt{ɛ_{bac}^{2} + ɛ_{res}^{2}}}{2} \right\rbrack^{1/2}\left\lbrack {1 + {\frac{\hslash\quad\omega_{S}}{2\sqrt{ɛ_{bac}^{2} + ɛ_{res}^{2}}}\frac{U_{21}\left( {\Omega_{PP}^{2} - \gamma_{31}^{2}} \right)}{{\hslash^{2}\left( {{\gamma_{31}\gamma_{21}} + \Omega_{PP}^{2}} \right)}^{2}}}} \right\rbrack}$where ∈_(res)(Ω_(PP) ²)=U₂₁/ℏ(γ₂₁+Ω_(PP) ²/γ₃₁). The buffer has astorage time τ=LS√{square root over (∈_(bac))}/c for a device of lengthL, and a turn-on threshold at pump power density Ω_(PP,(min)) ²=γ₃₁ ².For a small ∈_(res), S has a maximum when Ω_(PP,(max)) ²=γ₃₁(γ₂₁+2γ₃₁).For high pump power density and small γ₃₁, S approaches the upper boundof system performance given byS _(max)=ω_(S)/(4√{square root over (2)}γ₃₁).Conversely, for low pump power density and large γ₃₁, EIT ceases and theQD resumes a Lorentzian absorption spectrum. For a large γ₂₁ or γ₃₁,α∝U₂₁∝ξ² and for a small γ₂₁ or or γ₃₁, α∝√{square root over (U₂₁)}∝ξ.

The absorption coefficient can be reduced by choosing different pumppower. We define a figure-of-merit F as the measure of total bufferingtime before the signal has to be re-amplified. For small product of αLwhich is the case for practical applications, F is given by$F = {\frac{S}{c\quad\alpha}.}$F has a minimum at finite pump power density and scales as F□I_(P) whenI_(P) is large. Therefore the buffer performance can be optimized bychoosing the best combination of slow-down factor and the absorption.

EXAMPLE

In this example, disk-shaped QDs are used. |1> is chosen to be the holelevel in the valence band; |2> and |3> are chosen to be the electroniclevels in the conduction band. In our calculations, ω_(S)=1.55 μm, δ=0,|μ₃₂|/e=25 Å, |μ₂₁|/e=15ξÅ where e and ξ are electron charge andexcitonic enhancement factor due to the confinement of electrons andholes inside the QD, respectively. Ten vertically-stacked QD layers with8 nm diameter, 10 nm height, and surface density of 4×10¹⁰/cm² are used.FIG. 13 shows the slow-down factor S and the loss α experienced by thesignal light under different pump power intensity. The group velocityslow-down factor (left axis) and the corresponding absorptioncoefficient (right axis) are plotted as a function of the pump powerdensity. Three different linewidth regimes are compared. Case A, B, Ccorresponds to 1 μeV, 50 μeV and 1 meV, respectively. Enhancement factorξ=10 is used in this plot. ℏγ₃₁=ℏγ₂₁ takes the values of 1 μeV, 50 μeVand 1 meV in cases A, B, and C, respectively. The slow-down factorsreach maximum values of 5.8×10⁶, 1.9×10⁴ and 82 at pump levels of3×10⁻⁶, 7×10⁻³ and 1.9 MW/cm² with corresponding group velocitydispersions of −1.5×10⁴, −1.22 and −0.61 ps/km-nm, for cases A, B, andC, respectively. The dispersion for case A can be reduced to zero bychoosing pump power density 1.6×10⁻⁴ MW/cm² with a correspondingslow-down factor of 1.5×10⁶. FIG. 14 shows the influence of γ₃₁ on theslow-down factor, absorption coefficient and pump power density. All areimproved with the decrease of γ₃₁.

Experimentally a single QD has been shown to have μeV dephasing at lowtemperatures. This would correspond to a slow-down factor of more than10⁶, requiring ˜10 W/cm² pump power density. At room temperature, thedephasing time ℏγ₃₁ is 2.2 meV, and is attributed to phonon scattering.But a slow-down factor of 82 can still be achieved and can be improvedby increasing the enhancement factor ξ. For linewidths greater than 10meV, the required pump laser intensity may create catastrophic facetdamage for semiconductor materials. The buffer turn-on and turn-offtimes depend on pump Rabi frequency Ω_(P) and are of the order of a fewps (or less) for large (or small) linewidths with the above materialparameters based on our transient model. The light pulses can slow downsignificantly with a negligible dispersion, making it desirable formaking optical buffers with an adjustable storage. Narrow linewidth QDfabrication is found to be important to the overall device performance.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a functional block diagram of an embodiment 70of a system employing an optical buffer according to the inventiondescribed herein is shown. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 15, atwo-branch configuration is used and a pair of Mach-Zehnder (MZ)switches 72, 74 are placed in the input and output paths 76, 78,respectively. The signal to be buffered is routed through the lowerbranch 80 by MZ switch 72 and the signal not to be buffered passesthrough the upper branch 82. Operation of MZ switches 72, 74 iscontrolled by a buffer switch control element 84 as shown. A buffer timecontrol element 86 controls the power of a distributed feedback (DFB)laser 88 (e.g., pump laser as described in FIG. 12) by varying theinjection current 90. DFB laser 88 is coupled to optical buffer 92 whichis in turn coupled to an optical amplifier 94. The optical amplifierahead of the output compensates for the losses induced by the opticalbuffer. Note the correlation between the combination of optical buffer92 and optical amplifier 94 and the configuration of VSOR 10 andamplifier 12 in FIG. 8.

The system illustrated in FIG. 15 can be implemented using discretecomponents or, using the fabrication techniques of the present inventionpreviously described as a monolithic integration of components 100 asshown in FIG. 16. Two levels of monolithic integration are shown in FIG.16. In one embodiment, the MZ switches, DFB, optical buffer, and opticalamplifier can be integrated as shown by element 102 in FIG. 16. Inanother embodiment, the DFB, optical buffer and optical amplifier can beintegrated and be separate from the MZ switches as shown by element 104in FIG. 16.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the present invention uses EIT as atool to slow and/or slow light. A variable semiconductor all-opticalbuffer according to the invention uses strained quantum dot structureswhere the buffering effect is achieved by slowing down the opticalsignal with control light source to vary the dispersion characteristicof the medium. The control light source can be external ormonolithically integrated with the buffer(s) and amplifier(s) used in anoverall system. Furthermore, instead of pumping the control lightsource, the control signal can be carried by an electric field to allowfaster and more precise control. As described herein, several aspects ofthe invention include using EIT to make an optical buffer, a digitaloptical buffer that is semiconductor based, a method of fabricating a 3DBragg cell and the 3D Bragg cell fabricated thereby, strainedself-assembled quantum dots, slow light control using an electric field,variable semiconductor all-optical buffers, shift registers and otheroptical devices based on slow light, and monolithic integration of anall-optical device with a control laser and/or amplifier.

Although the description above contains many specificities, these shouldnot be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merelyproviding illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodimentsof this invention. Thus the scope of this invention should be determinedby the appended claims and their legal equivalents. Therefore, it willbe appreciated that the scope of the present invention fully encompassesother embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art,and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limitedby nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to anelement in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one”unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural,chemical, and functional equivalents to the elements of theabove-described preferred embodiment that are known to those of ordinaryskill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and areintended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is notnecessary for a device or method to address each and every problemsought to be solved by the present invention, for it to be encompassedby the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or methodstep in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether the element, component, or method step isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to beconstrued under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, unlessthe element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

1. An optical buffering device, comprising: a semiconductor materialhaving at least one single quantum structure configured for bufferingand slowing an optical signal using electromagnetically inducedtransparency.
 2. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 1:wherein said semiconductor material is configured to receive opticalenergy for controlling the slowing of said optical signal.
 3. An opticalbuffering device as recited in claim 1: wherein said single quantumstructure comprises a single quantum dot structure.
 4. An opticalbuffering device as recited in claim 3: wherein said single quantum dotstructure comprises a plurality of stacked single quantum dots.
 5. Anoptical buffering device as recited in claim 4: wherein said quantumdots slow said propagation speed by electromagnetic inducedtransparency.
 6. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 5,further comprising: a pump laser configured to induceelectromagnetically induced transparency in said quantum dot structure.7. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 6: wherein slowing ofsaid optical signal is controllable by pump power of said laser.
 8. Anoptical buffering device as recited in claim 1: wherein said quantumstructure is further configured with a grating for slowing said opticalsignal according to photonic bandgap engineering.
 9. An opticalbuffering device as recited in claim 8: wherein said grating comprises aBragg grating.
 10. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 8:wherein slowing of said optical signal is controllable by applying avoltage or current to said grating.
 11. An optical buffering device asrecited in claim 8: wherein said grating comprises a plurality of burledAlOx channels.
 12. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 4,wherein said quantum dots comprise strained self-assembled quantum dots.13. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 4, wherein saidelectromagnetically induced transparency is controllable by an electricfield across said quantum dots.
 14. An optical buffering device asrecited in claim 6: wherein said electromagnetically inducedtransparency is controllable by an electric field across said quantumdots; and wherein said electric field carries a control signal for saidlaser.
 15. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 6: whereinsaid quantum dot structure and said laser are monolithically integrated.16. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 1: wherein saidsemiconductor material has a length; wherein said optical bufferingdevice has a memory size; and wherein said memory size is a function ofsaid length and slowing of said optical signal.
 17. An optical bufferingdevice as recited in claim 1, further comprising: an optical waveguideconfigured to guide said optical signal.
 18. A semiconductor-basedoptical buffer, comprising: a semiconductor material having at least onestrained single quantum structure configured to slow propagation of anoptical signal and buffer the optical signal using electromagneticallyinduced transparency.
 19. An optical buffer as recited in claim 18:wherein slowing of said optical signal occurs at room temperature. 20.An optical buffer as recited in claim 18: wherein said semiconductormaterial comprises a plurality of photonic crystals which sharpenspectral linewidths due to its density of states.
 21. An optical bufferas recited in claim 18; wherein said semiconductor material isconfigured to receive optical energy for controlling the slowing of saidoptical signal.
 22. An optical buffer as recited in claim 18, further.comprising: a pump laser configured to induce electromagneticallyinduced transparency in said semiconductor material.
 23. An opticalbuffer as recited in claim 22: wherein slowing of said optical signal iscontrollable in response to the level of pump power of said laser. 24.An optical buffer as recited in claim 18: wherein said semiconductormaterial has a length; wherein said optical buffer has a memory size;and wherein said memory size is a function of said length and slowing ofsaid optical signal.
 25. An optical buffer as recited in claim 18:wherein said electromagnetically induced transparency is controllable inresponse to the application of an electric field across said quantumstructure.
 26. An optical buffer as recited in claim 21: wherein saidelectromagnetically induced transparency is controllable in response tothe application of an electric field across said quantum structure; andwherein said electric field carries a control signal for said laser. 27.An optical buffer as recited in claim 18, further comprising: an opticalwaveguide configured to guide said optical signal.
 28. Asemiconductor-based optical buffer, comprising: a semiconductor materialhaving at least one strained quantum structure in conjunction with aphotonic bandgap engineered material, said semiconductor configured toslow propagation of an optical signal and to buffer the optical signalusing electromagnetically induced transparency.
 29. An optical buffer asrecited in claim 28: wherein slowing of said optical signal occurs atroom temperature.
 30. An optical buffer as recited in claim 28: whereinslowing of said optical signal is a function of inhomogeneity of quantumdot size.
 31. An optical buffer as recited in claim 28: wherein saidsemiconductor material is configured to receive optical energy forcontrolling the slowing of said optical signal.
 32. An optical buffer asrecited in claim 28: further comprising a pump laser configured toinduce electromagnetically induced transparency in said semiconductormaterial.
 33. An optical buffer as recited in claim 32: wherein slowingof said optical signal is controllable in response to the level of pumppower of said laser.
 34. An optical buffer as recited in claim 28:wherein said semiconductor material has a length: wherein said opticalbuffer has a memory size; and wherein said memory size is a function ofsaid length and slowing of said optical signal.
 35. An optical buffer asrecited in claim 28: wherein said electromagnetically inducedtransparency is controllable by an electric field across said quantumstructure.
 36. An optical buffer as recited in claim 31: wherein saidelectromagnetically induced transparency is controllable by an electricfield across said quantum structure; and wherein said electric fieldcarries a control signal for said laser.
 37. An optical buffer asrecited in claim 28, further comprising: an optical waveguide configuredto guide said optical signal.
 38. An optical buffering device,comprising: a semiconductor quantum structure configured for slowing anoptical signal and buffering the optical signal usingelectromagnetically induced transparency; a grating configured forslowing said optical signal by photonic bandgap engineering; and a laserconfigured to induce said electromagnetically induced transparency; saidlaser controllable by an electric field that controls coupling ofquantize states in said semiconductor quantum structure.
 39. An opticalbuffering device as recited in claim 38: wherein said semiconductorquantum structure comprises a material that exhibits direct bandgaps.40. An optical buffering device as recited in claim, 38: whereininterband and intersubband optical transition dipole moments in saidsemiconductor quantum structure are configured for using said electricfield to control coupling strength.
 41. An optical buffering device asrecited in claim 38: wherein said electric field carries a controlsignal for said laser.
 42. An optical buffering device, comprising: asemiconductor quantum structure configured with a plurality of strainedquantum wells or strained quantum dots, or both, arranged in stacks forslowing an optical signal and buffering the optical signal withinoptical shift registers using electromagnetically induced transparency;an optical amplifier coupled to said optical shift register; whereinsaid optical shift register and said optical amplifiers are configuredin a plurality of alternating stages within said semiconductor quantumstructure to extend buffer depth beyond the attenuation limits of asingle optical shift register stage; a grating configured for slowingsaid optical signal by photonic bandgap engineering; and a laserconfigured to induce said electromagnetically induced transparency; saidlaser controllable by an electric field that controls coupling ofquantize states in said semiconductor quantum structure.
 43. An opticalbuffering device as recited in claim 42: wherein interband andintersubband optical transition dipole moments in said semiconductorquantum structure are configured for using said electric field tocontrol coupling strength; wherein said semiconductor quantum structurecomprises a semiconductor material that exhibits direct bandgaps.
 44. Anoptical buffering device as recited in claim 42: wherein said electricfield carries a control signal for said laser.
 45. An optical bufferingdevice, comprising: a semiconductor quantum structure configured with aplurality of strained quantum wells or strained quantum dots, or both,arranged in stacks for slowing an optical signal and buffering theoptical signal using electromagnetically induced transparency; stages ofalternating optical shift registers with optical amplifiers within saidsemiconductor quantum structure allowing the depth of said buffering toexceed the attenuation limited buffering of a single optical shiftregister; a grating configured for slowing said optical signal byphotonic bandgap engineering; and a laser configured to induce saidelectromagnetically induced transparency; said laser controllable by anelectric field that controls coupling of quantize states in saidsemiconductor quantum structure; wherein interband and intersubbandoptical transition dipole moments in said semiconductor quantumstructure are configured for using said electric field to controlcoupling strength; wherein said electric field carries a control signalfor said laser.
 46. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 45:wherein said semiconductor quantum structure comprises a material thatexhibits direct bandgaps.
 47. An optical buffering device, comprising: asemiconductor quantum structure configured with a plurality of strainedquantum wells or strained quantum dots, or both, arranged in stacks forslowing an optical signal and buffering the optical signal within thesemiconductor using electromagnetically induced transparency; a gratingconfigured for slowing said optical signal by photonic bandgapengineering; and a laser configured to induce said electromagneticallyinduced transparency; wherein said semiconductor quantum structure andsaid laser are monolithically integrated.
 48. An optical bufferingdevice, comprising: a semiconductor quantum structure configured with aplurality of strained quantum wells or strained quantum dots, or both,arranged in stacks for slowing an optical signal and buffering theoptical signal within the semiconductor using electromagneticallyinduced transparency; a grating configured for slowing said opticalsignal by photonic bandgap engineering; a laser configured to inducesaid electromagnetically induced transparency; wherein saidsemiconductor quantum structure and said laser are monolithicallyintegrated; and an optical amplifier monolithically integrated with saidsemiconductor quantum structure and said laser; wherein a plurality ofintegrated stages having alternating semiconductor quantum structureoptical buffers and said optical amplifiers are coupled to said laser,thereby forming an optical buffer of a desired length depending on thenumber of buffer-amplifier stages are incorporated.
 49. An opticalbuffering device, comprising: a semiconductor quantum structureconfigured with a plurality of strained quantum wells or strainedquantum dots, or both, arranged in stacks forming an optical shiftregister of an optical buffer for slowing an optical signal usingelectromagnetically induced transparency; optical amplifiersinterspersed between a plurality of stages of said optical shiftregister to extend the capacity of said optical buffering device; agrating configured for slowing said optical signal by photonic bandgapengineering; a laser configured to induce said electromagneticallyinduced transparency; wherein said semiconductor quantum structure, saidlaser, said optical shift register, and said optical amplifier aremonolithically integrated.
 50. An optical buffering device as recited inclaim 1, wherein said quantum structure comprises a quantum wellstructure.
 51. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 1,wherein said semiconductor material has a plurality of said singlequantum well structures.
 52. An optical buffering device as recited inclaim 16, wherein said memory size is sufficient to retain at least onepacket of optical data.
 53. An optical buffer as recited in claim 18,wherein said strained quantum structure comprises at least one singlequantum well structure.
 54. An optical buffer as recited in claim 18,wherein said semiconductor material has a plurality of said strainedsingle quantum well structures.
 55. An optical buffer as recited inclaim 18, wherein said strained quantum structure comprises at least onesingle quantum dot structure.
 56. An optical buffer as recited in claim55, wherein said single quantum dot structure comprises a plurality ofstacked single quantum dots.
 57. An optical buffer as recited in claim18, further comprising a grating for slowing said optical signalaccording to photonic bandgap engineering.
 58. An optical buffer asrecited in claim 57, wherein said grating comprises a Bragg grating. 59.An optical buffer as recited in claim 24, wherein said memory size issufficient to retain at least one packet of optical data.
 60. An opticalbuffering device as recited in claim 38, wherein said buffering devicehas a memory size sufficient to retain at least one packet of opticaldata.
 61. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 42, whereinsaid buffering device has a memory size sufficient to retain at leastone packet of optical data.
 62. An optical buffering device as recitedin claim 45, wherein said buffering device has a memory size sufficientto retain at least one packet of optical data.
 63. An optical bufferingdevice as recited in claim 49, wherein said buffering device has amemory size sufficient to retain at least one packet of optical data.64. A semiconductor-based optical buffer, comprising: a semiconductormaterial having a plurality of quantum wells or quantum dots, or both,configured to slow propagation of an optical signal through the opticalbuffer using electromagnetically induced transparency; said opticalbuffer having sufficient length to retain at least one optical packet.65. An optical buffer as recited in claim 64, wherein said quantum wellsor quantum dots comprise strained quantum wells or quantum dots,respectively.
 66. An optical buffer as recited in claim 64, wherein saidsemiconductor material is configured to receive optical energy forcontrolling the slowing of said optical signal.
 67. An optical buffer asrecited in claim 64, wherein said electromagnetically inducedtransparency is controllable in response to the application of anelectric field across said quantum structure.
 68. An optical buffer asrecited in claim 64, further comprising a grating configured for slowingsaid optical signal by photonic bandgap engineering.
 69. An opticalbuffering device as recited in claim 68, wherein said grating comprisesa Bragg grating.
 70. An optical buffering device, comprising: asemiconductor quantum structure configured with a plurality of strainedquantum wells or strained quantum dots, or both, arranged in stacksforming an optical shift register of an optical buffer through whichsaid optical signal is slowed using electromagnetically inducedtransparency; optical amplifiers interspersed between a plurality ofstages of said optical shift register to extend the capacity of saidoptical buffering device to at least one optical data packet; and alaser configured to induce said electromagnetically inducedtransparency.
 71. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 70,wherein said semiconductor material is configured to receive opticalenergy for controlling the slowing of said optical signal.
 72. Anoptical buffering device as recited in claim 70, wherein saidelectromagnetically induced transparency is controllable in response tothe application of an electric field across said quantum structure. 73.An optical buffering device as recited in claim 70, wherein saidsemiconductor quantum structure, said laser, said optical shiftregister, and said optical amplifier are monolithically integrated. 74.An optical buffering device as recited in claim 70, further comprising agrating configured for slowing said optical signal by photonic bandgapengineering.
 75. An optical buffering device as recited in claim 74,wherein said grating comprises a Bragg grating.
 76. An optical bufferingdevice, comprising: a semiconductor quantum structure forming an opticalshift register of an optical buffer within which the optical signal isslowed using electromagnetically induced transparency; opticalamplifiers interspersed between a plurality of stages of said opticalshift register to extend buffer capacity to at least one optical datapacket; a grating configured for slowing said optical signal by photonicbandgap engineering; and a laser configured to provide optical energyfor controlling the slowing of said optical signal by saidelectromagnetically induced transparency; wherein said semiconductorquantum structure, said laser, said optical shift register, and saidoptical amplifier are monolithically integrated.
 77. An opticalbuffering device, comprising: a semiconductor material configured forslowing an optical signal using electromagnetically inducedtransparency; wherein said semiconductor material comprises a quantumdot structure; wherein said quantum dot structure comprises a pluralityof stacked quantum dots; wherein said quantum dots slow said propagationspeed by electromagnetic induced transparency; a pump laser configuredto induce electromagnetically induced transparency in said quantum dotstructure; wherein slowing of said optical signal is controllable bypump power of said laser; wherein said quantum dot structure furthercomprises a grating.